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fantastic-rambles · 1 year

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Fandom: Sk8 the Infinity

Characters: Ainosuke Shindo, Tadashi Kikuchi

Warnings: None?

Word Count: 2k

Summary: In a world in which every person is born with one of their soulmate's eyes, Ainosuke is determined to do whatever he can to find the one person who he is destined to be with. [Year of the OTP 2023 @yearoftheotpevent. June: Soulmate AU]

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Ainosuke gazed into the mirror as he ran a comb through his hair. He’d always loved his eyes: red and green, they stood out among a sea of varying shades of brown, with the occasional splash of blue or green. He’d always thought that they would make it easy for him to find his soulmate… and yet, he’d watched classmates fall in love, business partners get married, people coming together to start a new life with each other while he remained alone.

Of course, it was possible for people to find happiness, even without finding the one they were fated to be with, but he couldn’t bring himself to settle for that. The idea that there was someone out there who was supposed to be his, so intimately bound together that they could see the world together through the same eyes, was something that spoke to his very soul. He just had to look harder, to put more effort into meeting more people and reaching out beyond the boundaries of his own world.

All of that ambition had led him here, to this moment. Of course, his family was thrilled and more than happy to support him in his goal to become a politician: a position of power like that would only help to raise their own stock and likely play to their advantage in other ways. But Ainosuke didn't care about that, not really. His own motivations were equally selfish, if not more so. By having an excuse to appear in public in larger and larger venues, perhaps his fated lover would see him and reach out themselves, someday. If Japan was still too small, then he'd even aim for the position of Prime Minister and go abroad, leading this country to the forefront of international politics in exchange for a few extra minutes in the spotlight. No matter how long it took, he wouldn't give up.

Tucking his brush back into the inner pocket of his suit jacket, Ainosuke turned to leave the bathroom, nearly running into another man. About to murmur a polite apology, he glanced up at the other man's face, and the words died on his tongue. A pair of brilliant emerald eyes stared back at him, all the more beautiful for having been completed. He never could have mistaken them, but even so, he glanced over his shoulder to find two crimson eyes staring back at him from the mirror.

"Please excuse me."

The other man didn't seem to have noticed anything as he continued to try to edge past Ainosuke, but Ainosuke's own heart was racing as he reached out to grab the stranger's wrist.

"What's your name?"

A flicker of emotion—annoyance—crossed the man's face, but he answered anyway.

"Tadashi Kikuchi."

Tadashi. A beautiful name for a beautiful man… but Ainosuke's contemplations were brought to an abrupt halt as he suddenly recognized the name. Tadashi Kikuchi wasn't especially well-known to the general public, but he was a thorn in the side of Ainosuke's own party. He was said to be not much of a speaker, but when he did talk, he was straightforward and honest, which had contributed to his election as a "trustworthy" politician… not unlike Ainosuke himself, though his own popularity was founded upon a facade more than reality. Rather, Tadashi's strength was said to lie in the written word, drafting bills with all the flexibility of a lawyer while finding loopholes and alternative readings of Ainosuke's own party's proposals to strike them down. But that had nothing to do with their love.

"Tadashi. I mean, Kikuchi-san. Do you know who I am?"

Another flash of annoyance.

"Ainosuke Shindo-san. If you'll excuse me, I need to use the facilities. If there's something that you would like to discuss with me, you can speak with my secretary about adding yourself to my schedule."

"That's not it," Ainosuke started to protest, but then he bit his tongue. Tadashi seemed to have the wrong impression of what Ainosuke wanted, but he was right that a bathroom wasn't the right place to have this conversation. Besides, Ainosuke wanted to do this properly. He hadn't expected to run into his soulmate here, but he'd spent years thinking about what he would do when he finally found them. This was his chance—his only chance—to make everything perfect.

Furthermore, Tadashi already knew who he was, which meant that he had some amount of interest in Ainosuke, right? Perhaps not romantically, since he still hadn't noticed the change in both of their conditions, but he'd clearly been paying attention to the younger man in some way. That was more than enough for a starting point.

"But I'll do as you say. I'll see you later, Kikuchi-san!"

Smiling, Ainosuke let go of the other man before leaving the bathroom and quickly returning to his own office. There was so much that he needed to do, after all! Contacting Tadashi's secretary first to schedule an appointment later in the afternoon and making sure that he had no events after work, calling up a florist for a last-minute order of three dozen red roses in full bloom, making a dinner reservation since both of their evenings were clear for the moment… It was truly regretful that they were in session. Otherwise, they could have planned a relaxing trip together, perhaps to Ainosuke's native Okinawa or the other extreme of Hokkaido. They could always arrange such a trip for the future, of course, but it wouldn't be the same.

He could barely get through his own work as he constantly checked the clock, waiting for the designated hour to arrive. Ten minutes before their appointment, Ainosuke headed out with the bouquet in one hand while brushing his hair back with the other. By the time he arrived at Tadashi's office, he was humming, eager to surprise his beloved.

When he knocked on the door, it opened immediately. A man in a dark suit ushered him in… and then left, closing the door behind him. Ainosuke's heart leapt in his chest when he realized that he and Tadashi were alone: had the other man finally realized what had happened? Was he ready to accept their eternal love?

As Tadashi rose from his desk, Ainosuke quickly closed the distance between them so that he could catch the older man as he walked around it to greet him. Lowering himself to one knee, Ainosuke offered the roses to him, belatedly regretting that he hadn't ordered more. A hundred, at least, according to his original plans. As many as the florist had available, and if one shop didn't have enough, he'd have reached out to more. And even that would have been a pittance compared to what Tadashi deserved. But he'd decided to hold back, a little, in case the other man still hadn't put the pieces together so as not to overwhelm him.

"Kikuchi-san. I've been searching for you, my soulmate, for my entire lifetime. As a token of our acquaintance, I have prepared these flowers, which hold the meaning of 'passionate love.' Will you please accept my feelings?" he asked, gazing up at Tadashi with an expression of earnest devotion. His beloved's expression was harder to read, blank and impassive… while he made no effort to take the flowers.

"Please get up, Shindo-san," he requested, and Ainosuke scrambled to his feet, his hold on the bouquet tightening as he started to grow anxious. Had he made a mistake? Did Tadashi still not understand? Was there another reason the man had dismissed his assistant for this meeting?

Then, Tadashi sighed.

"I understand why you're here"—pale, elegant fingers reached up to brush the corner of his eye, just under the fringe of black hair—"but you do understand that this is mostly superstition? Certainly, the phenomenon of eyes being exchanged exists, but people who experience it do not have a greater chance of 'finding happiness,' or falling in love, statistically speaking. When it does happen, it's more likely to be some sort of self-fulfilling prophecy due to the active, concerted efforts of those involved. Otherwise, it's nearly impossible to develop a relationship with someone you don't even know based merely on a peculiarity like this."

Tadashi was saying things that Ainosuke had heard before, but he was hardly going to give up because of such a minor obstacle, especially when he was more than ready to put in "active, concerted efforts" to achieve his dreams. It seemed that his fated partner was one of those who didn't believe in fate, which was unfortunate, but not entirely uncommon. More and more people these days were accepting it as just another part of life rather than searching for the person who would complete them. But Ainosuke wasn't like that. Instead, he smiled more charmingly as he lay the roses on Tadashi's desk.

"Of course I understand that. Which is why I've already made us a dinner reservation for this evening. We can spend as much time as you like getting to know each other over good food and a few drinks. You're alright with French, I hope?"

But Tadashi shook his head.

"That's not the issue. Frankly, Shindo-san, I'm not interested in playing along with some sophomoric game. I have more important work to do. We both do."

"I'm entirely serious about this, though? Ah… are you dating someone else at the moment? Or is there some other, personal reason that you can't accept this? Are you heterosexual?"

Ainosuke himself had never worried about such things: regardless of who his soulmate was, he'd been determined to dedicate all of his love to them. It didn't make sense, after all, for a soulmate to be someone the other person couldn't be attracted to. His fairly invasive questions seemed to be making Tadashi blush, though, such an innocent reaction making him all the more endearing.

"No, that's not… No, I mean…"

"Then can't you at least give me a chance? Come to dinner with me, at least. If you decide that you hate me, then that will be the end of it, I promise. But if I'm tolerable, then let's continue meeting up outside of work. We don't have to call it dating, if you're uncomfortable with that. Just hanging out, getting to know each other, and seeing where it goes from there. And if you eventually decide that you do like me, then our romance can finally begin."

Tadashi's lips turned downwards, but the frown seemed to be more thoughtful than displeased, so Ainosuke stayed silent, not wanting to push too much and encounter resistance. He was starting to get the measure of the other man and learning how to best appeal to him. His suggestion was perfectly reasonable, which would make it hard for someone as serious and diligent as Tadashi to refuse him despite understanding the motivations behind the invitation. Even so, Tadashi seemed to be trying to find some sort of excuse to turn him down… before he sighed again.

"Just dinner," he warned, and Ainosuke nodded enthusiastically.

"Just dinner," he promised, pulling out one of his business cards and a pen so he could write down the details of their reservation before offering it to Tadashi with both hands. After the other man had taken it and reviewed the details, Ainosuke smiled again.

"I'm looking forward to this evening. Thank you very much for indulging me in this, Kikuchi-san."

Reaching for the flowers on the desk, Ainosuke extracted a single blood-red bloom, raising it to his lips to press a kiss to the soft, velvety petals before reaching out to gently tuck it into Tadashi's breast pocket. An equally rosy color stained Tadashi's cheeks again, making Ainosuke want to pull him into an embrace and kiss him, but he forced himself to hold back. Bowing slightly, he excused himself, waiting for the office door to close behind him before he reached into his pocket to extract his cell phone.

He needed to call the restaurant and make some adjustments to his initial request that they design a romantic evening, after all.

#year of the otp #yotp #yotp 2023 #sk8 the infinity #skate the infinity #sk8 #fan fic #fanfic #sk8 adam #ainosuke shindo #shindo ainosuke #sk8 tadashi #sk8 snake #tadashi kikuchi #kikuchi tadashi #mine

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raointean · 2 years

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Day 1 - OTP

@ringsofpowervalentinesweek

[Context for non-Silm fans: Celeborn (the husband that Galadriel mentioned) canonically helped Elrond establish Rivendell and brought their daughter with him. Elrond and Celebrían were married at the beginning of the third age, I believe.]

Celebrían sat down next to her father by the campfire with a bowl of stew as evening fell. Shelters for the laborers of Imladris had not yet been constructed and so they lived in camps scattered around the valley. Celeborn had elected to set up his tent a ways away from the others that evening, and Celebrían had gone with him.

As they began to eat, she struck up a conversation. “You know, Elrond is not bad looking…”

Celeborn gave her a stern look. “Leave him be. I know your way with ellons and I advise you to keep your claws out of him. Do not dally with him.”

Celebrían laughed. She had strung many ellons along before, she enjoyed seeing their futile attempts to woo her, but never had her father done more than roll his eyes at her youth.

“I mean that, Celebrían. He is good, in the truest sense of the word. Do not entice him unless you mean to actually court him.”

Celebrían scoffed. “I declare, I do think you are more fond of him than you are of me!”

Celeborn merely raised an eyebrow. “Promise me?”

She released a long-suffering sigh. It seemed her father was not going to give this up easily. “Very well. I will not let it go beyond friendship, if ever we even get that far.”

Satisfied, Celeborn nodded and returned to his stew.

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Elrond’s heart skipped a beat as he entered the library. Construction on it had finished only a few days ago and Elrond was determined to organize it himself. He simply didn’t trust anyone else to meet his standards of efficiency.

Unfortunately, the library was not unoccupied. Near one of the broad, arching windows, stood Celebrían. Celeborn was becoming a dear friend of his, but Elrond did not know his daughter well, only that she was very beautiful. She was tall and slender, save for her face. Her face was round and cheerful, framed by curling silver hair that fell down her back and shoulders like the waterfalls of the valley with their glistening iridescent spray. The green of her eyes was like to the depths of forests and- oh no. He was becoming poetic.

He would have to leave immediately, lest he stay to appreciate her and end up making a fool of himself. No, the library would have to wait. He turned to go, but a musical voice came from behind him and held him in place as if he was bound there.

“Ah, Lord Elrond. I apologize, I did not see you there. I was looking out at the passion flowers.” Elrond turned back to Celebrían and saw her point to a place not far from the window. Almost against his will, he was drawn to her side.

Sure enough, beyond the window, a little ways from a stream, grew several winding vines of passion flowers in full bloom. Celebrían sighed happily. “They are my favorite flowers, you know. Many overlook them because of their strange appearance, but I love them all the more for it. It is in the strange that we find the yet unexplored mysteries of life.”

It was then that Elrond knew he was doomed to love her forever. Not only was her beauty greater than the light of the sun, but she did not fear mystery and her thought seemed to run as deep as the depths of the Sea.

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“Whoa,” Celebrían breathed. She was lying on her back on the grass at the top of a hill in the hidden valley watching the silver rain of a meteor shower above her head. Elrond lay next to her. He, in his vast knowledge of astronomy, had predicted that one would occur that night and had brought her with him to watch it.

In the centuries since they had met, they had become fast friends, although Elrond’s awkwardness had never entirely faded. Celebrían still maintained that he was not unattractive, but neither of them had made a move and Celebrían was not entirely sad about that. He was interesting, certainly, but not so fascinating that she wanted to spend her entire immortal life tethered to him.

She turned to see his face and started. This was not at all the elf she had lain beside! His hair was no longer solid strands, but was as a black liquid pooled about his head like an ebony halo. In the dark mass, she swore she could see dancing tendrils that lit up blue and purple and green.

Hearing her start, Elrond turned to her. His eyes burned with starlight; a thousand galaxies spinning within them.

“Are you well, Celebrían?” His voice was not one, but many. Male and female, young and ancient, great and small, all weaving together to form something that pretended to be a single voice, but was not.

“Y-yes, I am just fine,” she managed to choke out and she turned back to the sky as quickly as she could. A warmth that she could not name flooded her heart. She had known that her friend’s mind was as vast as the ocean and that his heart was as great as the mountains, but never could she have guessed that his soul was so truly, incalculably immense. She loved it.

No.

She loved him. That was the feeling that filled her now.

In her youth, her friends had called her ulunndil, lover of strange and monstrous things. She supposed they had spoken truly.

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Father?” Celebrían stood in the doorway of Celeborn’s room. He looked up from his book, but did not stand from his chair by the fire; he was comfortable. Celebrían looked almost nervous. That was strange. She had inherited her mother’s boldness and pride along with his own fearlessness; she was never nervous.

“Yes, daughter? What is it?”

She moved fully into the room and straightened herself. “I have begun courting.”

Celeborn sighed. “And which unfortunate ellon has fallen into your trap this time?” It must be someone strange indeed if he made her nervous to tell her own father.

Celebrían’s resolve seemed to stiffen. “Elrond,” she answered. “And he has fallen into no trap.”

At this, Celeborn set his book aside. “Did I not warn you against misleading him? Never have I seen you court anyone in earnest! What then has changed? Or did you simply ignore my wisdom?”

“I have not!” protested Celebrían. “I care for him dearly! In all the years of my life, I have never met someone so kind and wise and beautiful and interesting! Glad would I be, if I could stay by his side all the days of my life.”

Celeborn’s face softened and he rose. His heart swelled with too many emotions for him to name. Elrond was as dear as a son to him, but he was gentle. He had survived more heartache already than should have been his lot in life. He had grown into a strong, if young, lord, but needed someone with an iron will to back him up.

Celebrían, in turn, had never learned to take things seriously and bulldozed her way through life. She needed a gentle and restraining hand to show her the value of caution and tact.

Celeborn caressed his daughter’s face. She had grown so much already in the few short centuries they’d been there. Yes, this match would be good for both of them, and for him as well. He would be loath to trust either of them to anyone but each other.

At last, he spoke. “Then I am happy for you, dear one. And I hope you shall be happy with each other.”

#elrond peredhel #celebrían #celeborn #rings of power #the silmarillion #celrond #fanfiction #challenge week #rivendell #friends to lovers #tropvalentinesweek2023

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aethelredism · 1 year

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#44 and ur current otp

Osbert’s voice is soft, a warm puff of air against Edmund’s ear.

“What are you thinking?”

Edmund smiles, though he’s not sure Osbert can even see it in the dark. “I am thinking that in Winchester, the nights used to be so quiet. But here…” He stretches out a hand just as the sea crashes against the rocks below them.

Osbert laughs. “What, the sea? To tell you the truth, I do not even hear it most of the time. I have grown so used to the sound. And then I will leave for a few days and the silence is so loud I wonder that I never noticed.”

Edmunds nods. “The silence…it felt so heavy, in Winchester. I like being able to hear the sea.”

A particularly loud wave drums against the shore at that moment, making both of them laugh. They can hear little else but the sea from up here, where they are watching the stars. Sihtric said he saw the Bifrost last night, the bridge that leads from Midgard to the gods’ realm of Asgard. Ingrith insists the lights he saw are really the glint of the Valkyries’ shields as they carry a fallen warrior to Valhalla. Mother says they are just lights from the stars, and not to let any pagan notions get into his head. Whatever they are, Edmund wants to see them, and he wants Osbert to be by his side when he does.

A bracing wind from the sea picks up, sending a shiver down Edmund’s spine.

“Are you cold?” Osbert asks, and before Edmund can answer, he wraps an arm around his shoulders, chafing his arm. “Better?”

Edmund nods mutely, the words sticking in his throat. He wants to thank Osbert, but what he says instead is, “You’re always taking care of me.”

“Why shouldn’t I?” Osbert asks pleasantly. Softer, he adds, “I like to.”

Edmund doesn’t know what to say to that. He opens and closes his mouth, wishing words would come.

“Edmund,” Osbert says quietly.

Edmund turns his head, and though it’s almost too dark to see, he can feel Osbert’s face inches from his own. Questioningly, Osbert runs the pad of his thumb over Edmund’s lower lip.

Edmund leans forward, kissing him clumsily. He doesn’t know what he’s doing, but he can feel Osbert smiling, so he thinks he must be doing something right.

Above them, the sky glows with green light, unseen by either.

#i have many otps so i picked this one #edmund x osbert #seven kings must die #the last kingdom #fic by me

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blissfulalchemist · 2 years

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20 Days of OTP Mini Prompts

Day 5: Holding Hands in Packed Areas

I return with a little mini prompt from otp list! So please have the intro of Conner in the ffxiv universe :’) I couldn’t resist having another tragic ancient tale and here we are.... No warnings. Much of this information is given in EW and onward so spoilers. 762 words

Winter’s arrival means that there’ll be a festival at least once a week until the new year in the already lively and bustling city of Amaurot, something that used to call for Conner to stay closer to home and work. Now though he looked forward to such an event, especially given that the custom of keeping one’s white mask and black hood up was still in full swing. Times where for once neither he nor Elidibus had to worry about being seen engaging in such normal acts of affection, they could just be like those that did not have the burden of being a symbol of impartiality for society at large.

Conner’s laugh quiets as he takes in the deep and free laughter of his partner, music to his ears with its rarity. “Shall we make our way over towards the stage?” Elidibus asks as he stands on a concrete raised flower bed, “Or see what they have in the market?” His eyes scan over the sea of people that make their way through the streets, “If you are getting tired love we can go to that restaurant we have been meaning to try.”

“You have no meetings tomorrow, correct?” Elidibus looks down, shaking his head, “Then we can do whatever and however much you like. I already informed my boss that I would not be in tomorrow.”

His smile brightens to a point Conner can almost make out his ice blue eyes sparkling in the shadows of the mask, “Then let us away to the market!”

Conner helps Elidibus down, hands on his waist, “Just head north?”

“Yes, though you will have a much easier time navigating than I.” Conner nods, hand outstretched for Elidibus, which he takes with a bit more enthusiasm than needed. The farther into the crowds the two get the more Conner sees that Elidibus’ statement that he would have an easier time navigating is proving false, Since when did everyone get so tall?. He pauses trying to gauge the direction they need to be going when his hand feels lighter.

He spins hoping to by all hope that he can simply identify Elidibus by the way he stands, He’s more likely to be walking actually, in the sea of identical robes. “Themis?” He calls out, craning his neck to find the general direction of the market, “He’s gonna have to show up there eventually.” He finds a spot next to a stand selling sketches of landscapes and animals, arms crossed as he scans for anyone else looking just as lost as he.

“So this is where you went to hide?” Conner looks down at his left to an Elidibus that offers him a candied apple.

“Where did you go?”

“A few stands down. Someone bumped into me as we walked here and I thought I heard you say we were going to the sweets stand first.”

“That would not have been my first destination,” Conner mumbles, glancing away.

Elidibus chuckles, “Imagine the surprise that was felt from I and whose hand I had grabbed when we found out we were not meant to be doing so.”

He once again offers the candied apple, Conner shaking his head, “Can I assume you stumbled upon one of our friends?”

“No,” he answers with a shake of his head, pulling out a piece of caramel that Conner glances at before taking, “You thankfully have one unique item that is reflective enough in this lighting, meaning that I can spot it fairly easily.”

Conner’s brow furrows as he gives a small tilt of his head, Elidibus pointing to his left ear. Conner reaches up to feel the small silver chain connecting a cuff and hanging raw green gem, “Oh, right. Not many are opting to wear jewelry of any kind.”

“Which works in my favor.” Elidibus takes a bite, eyes focusing over the crowds of people moving before them, “What would you have done if we could not find one another?”

Conner shrugs, “Gone home and waited for you there. I mean you were planning on staying the night still.”

“How very presumptuous of you. What kind of man do you take me for, Conner?” Conner gently elbows Elidibus with a laugh, popping another sweet into his mouth, “But yes, that is the plan. After we find the Words of Halmarut’s stand for you. I hear they are selling a new form of chamomile, your favorite.”

“Maybe this time it will be enough for Emet-Selch,” he laughs, “Just promise to keep a better hold of my hand this time?”

“Always.”

#tbh this was bound to happen as conner is a nerd and grandma like and emet would do well to have someone like that #he is also very capable of mischief and scheming and i quite love conner a lot when he gets to be fun and free #AND he gets to have a short king! so there we are #x: conner elidibus temp tag #conner enache oc #ffxiv #the written word #once again giving me gpose was a mistake for the universe #endwalker spoilers

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princesssarisa · 2 years

Note

7 question ask: Ariel

Three facts about them from my personal headcanons.

While I don't think Ariel's Beginning is canon for the original film (so many fans agree that the characters aren't quite themselves in that prequel), I do believe that her mother was killed by humans and that this is the reason why King Triton hates them.

From an early age, she learned to take pride in her red hair. No one would dream of teasing her about it. The idea that red hair is weird and garish is a stupid human prejudice; under the sea, with so much blue and green to compliment it, red hair is considered especially beautiful.

If the TV series is canon, and Hans Christian Andersen was inspired to write his story of The Little Mermaid by a brief encounter with Ariel, then someday Ariel will read his story. She'll be amazed by how closely (by sheer coincidence) it parallels her own life, but she won't care for the idea that merpeople have no souls (which Andersen just made up), or for the ending.

A reason they suck:

Her deal with Ursula.

A reason they are great:

She's so enthusiastic and full of zest for life and exploration.

A reason I relate to them:

I've also felt as if I don't fit in.

(what I consider to be) the top tier otp/ot3 for that character:

Ariel and Eric forever!

Five things that never happened to the character that I believe should have happened:

She should have had more interactions with her sisters.

She should have had some lines before "Part of Your World" similar to the lyrics of the song "The World Above" from the Broadway musical, explaining that when she visits the surface or collects human objects, she feels more at home. That it's as if she was born in the wrong world by mistake, and was really meant to be human. (Yes, the LGBT+ parallel would be intentional.)

She should have shown a little more sadness and conflict about leaving her family behind. I understand that she was mad at her father, but he still is her father, and her sisters never did anything wrong to her.

There should have been a scene during her time as a mute human that showed her writing out the whole story of who she was, then showing it to Eric. But he would think it was just creative art, and we'd see that indeed, her writing just looks like odd shapes. Sebastian would then explain to her that she's writing in sea script, which humans can't read – she hasn't learned human script yet. This would explain the plot hole of Ariel knowing how to write yet not communicating with Eric that way.

The movie should have kept the deleted scene after the final battle, where, after Triton changes back to his true form, Ariel apologizes to him again (not for choosing to become human, but for letting Ursula trap her and use her as bait for Triton) and he comforts her. Maybe with an additional line from Triton, along the lines of "If not for my foolishness, none of this would have happened." Even though Triton's actions (sacrificing himself for Ariel and later turning her human again) make up for his earlier behavior, it would have been nice to hear a verbal apology from him too.

Five people that character never fell in love with and why.

King Triton. No incest.

Sebastian. As a crab, he's too physically different from her, as well as too old and too much of a babysitter.

Flounder. He's her best friend, but he's a fish and a child.

Grimsby. He's too old.

Chef Louis. He's too bloodthirsty toward fish and crabs.

#disney #the little mermaid #ariel #7 questions

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esculentevil · 1 year

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(Thorinduil + Thingoropher AU) The Heart of the Mermaid/Miner

((Thorinduil Mermaid/Miner AU partly inspired by @rosalind-wt-blog’s art here; also for MerMay; ALSOalso: sorry this is so short, it’s really just a gloss ok: no it’s not: it was MEANT to be one but then my idiot brain decided “NO! It needs DETAILS!!! I need to explain THIS and explain THAT!!! Now, once more, from the top, WITH FEELING!!!” x.x, and alsox3 for the Thingol/Oropher dump: while trying to decide/figure out how Duil could be trying to get back his heart while heartless [which launched its OWN debate of how fitting that would be from a he’s so heartless viewpoint], I unintentionally created a really cool background history for this AU that I just HAD to use; and, conveniently, it made it both possible and logical to fit my other OTP in here so... yea; enjoy?))

☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆💎AO3🦪/⛏️Pillowfort🌲☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆

Long ago, during the course of the First Age, The Great Elven King Elu Thingol requested the aid of the Dwarf Lords of Old.

“Fashion for me a necklace befitting this gem,” he’d ordered, loud and grand, displaying for all present (the dwarrow lords in question, members of his court, his wife--giver of said gem--and child, lords and ladies of distant elvish lands) one large jewel glowing an enchanting golden hue that mesmerized them all.

But none more so than the dwarrows employed to frame it.

They coveted this gem, worshiped it as True Gold, and endeavored to have it--and have it they did: on the day they deemed to present the necklace made, they snatched the golden gem from the great elven king and brought his wrath down upon themselves and all their kin; and, thus, the land of Erebor was taken, the dwarrows within conquered and claimed, and Elu Thingol crowned anew: both Elfking and Dwarfking.

Thorin had grown up with this tale sung low and long into his heart.

His mother had whispered it to him, behind his father’s back, every night since his birth in the Third Age--long after the dwarrows of Erebor lost their mountain, freedom, and gold to the white waif of an elf they must since call their king.

Thrain had never liked her telling of it, saying it was too kind and considerate and more lie than truth for the Dwarf Lords of Old--the REAL Dwarfkings, that is--had simply taken what they were due when the blasted Elfking refused to pay; but Fis, arguably the stubbornest of all dwarf dames, ignored his eternal protests and kept telling it, insisting that it was important for Thorin to know all truths.

And, so, he did.

Not that it did much good.

By the time he was old enough to mine and make like his father and forefathers, Thorin had already come to agree with Thrain and Thror (his grandfather and one of Erebor’s true kings) about the events they were all too young to see.

This is why, when Thorin unearths something so precious and pretty and perfect as he mines, he shows it to his father and grandfather and NOT his mother.

She would have only had him turn it in to the false king.

Together, and with the blessings of the remains of the true dwarven lordships, the Sons of Durin settle on a name for this priceless treasure: The Arkenstone.

Elsewhere, deep under the surface of--not rock and stone but--sea and water, this item is known by a different name: The Heart of the Green Sea’s King.

The land of Greenwater is one far below the Surface World. It is a land of sand and coral and thermal vents and darkness with speckles of light--not of the sun but of those inhabiting it: merms, merfolk, merpeople--whichever you prefer.

They go by many names; but surface dwellers usually call them monsters.

To Thranduil, however, it is THEM whom are the true monsters.

Legolas, Thranduil’s son, does not agree with this.

He thinks they’re strange, sure, but in a cute way. And the hairy ones are cutest, he often says; and Thranduil can never bring himself to say they’re the grossest--for that’s his opinion and, like his own father, he likes his son’s independence.

But that’s just the problem: his father may not be his father for much longer.

Oropher, King of Greenwater of the Great Green Sea, is DYING.

And, to his grandson’s tears, the fault lies in The Hairy Ones.

Thus, Thorin and Thranduil meet: above the sea but below the stone.

Deep inside a cave dwarrows use to bathe, the merm surfaces in a hot spring--utilizing the heat of it for that is what he is accustomed to from the thermal vents--and finds his head almost taken off--not by Thorin’s axe or sword or even a bow and arrow, no, but by his bare hands: wet and hot and coarse and thick and STRONG; almost enough to choke him on the first try.

Almost.

Thorin might be powerful in his own way but he’s still just a tiny little short dwarf: he is NOTHING compared to the raw might of a merm’s tail, least of all Thranduil’s impossibly long, mithril encrusted, starlight one.

It chokes him back, digging the toughest metal directly into his tough naked skin, and squeezes not just his neck but his head and torso and whole body as well until he’s dizzy and breathless and SIGHTLESS--

King Thingol is not impressed when he hears the young dwarf miner’s account: he’s intrigued.

He’s heard tales of these tails before, long ago when sails from Valinor meant crossing the Ocean Green and seeing the sights only Valar, Maiar, and Eldar do.

Merfolk are legends: beings of the deepest seas that can command them like Elves do land, the Valar do Arda, and Elu Illuvatar does Everything; it has, thus, been a long held belief (supported by The One not really knowing much of them) that these sea creatures are the only form of independent life anywhere.

And Elu Thingol has always been interested in them thusly...

It is this interest that has Thorin, a thick and heavy and burly and land-loving DWARF, swimming down the underwater tunnel his would-be-killer had used.

The path leads him passed the mining holes and the hot springs’ halls and even the lowest housing units used by the nobility and ROYALTY of the dwarrows.

And that irritates him: the fact that this MONSTER--which came upon him while he was NAKED and trying to RELAX and TAKE A WELL-DESERVED, HOT, PAMPERING BATH--might not only have COME FROM but also very well LIVE down there where it’s DEEPER than even DWARROWS can live.

But he does not let it show, does not let it interfere, because, as the hole opens and leads him into this insultingly deeper dwelling... he will have his REVENGE.

Or so he thought.

Thorin did not come unprepared on this endeavor--he wasn’t ALLOWED to--and it shows.

Equipped with oil-slicked clothing [spun by elves for only they could be so ick], an ancient [but admittedly powerful for a metal item forged by elves] blade named Orcrist, and a[n ELVEN] spell that allows him to breathe like a fish underwater [seriously, these ELVES have the absolute WEIRDEST things...], Thorin’s task isn’t nearly as hard as it probably could be--but he [and his father and grandfather] is certain the weird spell is the only thanks the elves deserve.

Especially as the freaks are known for making GLOWY THINGS and THIS blade DOESN’T GLOW despite how HELPFUL that would be in the DARK DEEP (and, yes, he’s irritated about this because the elves made a POINT to SAY it glows--around ORCS, they said, whatever THOSE are--as though that’s a huge selling point even though, one, it’s not being SOLD, and, two, THERE’RE NO ORCS!!!)!

Except, Thorin finds (and, no, he’s not sure if the elves KNEW this before so still fire and flame to them), that a glowing sword wouldn’t have been that helpful: EVERYONE DOWN HERE GLOWS.

This makes finding the specific monster HE is looking for not particularly hard; however, it DOES make stealthing around much more difficult than it should be--even for a dwarf.

Everywhere he goes, he has to be sure not to get caught in any merthing’s light--or DISTRACTED by it because, blast it, it’s BEAUTIFUL most of the time--especially that of the one he’s actually looking for--even if his false king isn’t.

Elu Thingol isn’t particularly interested in WHICH merthing he brings back so long as he DOES bring back ONE.

Thorin just hopes to hit two stones.

He finds him surrounded by what he can only call his young.

They are all smaller than him and, although only one of them LOOKS like him, they all seem to do or move or even sound similar to him like Thorin (and Dis, his sister, and Frerin, his brother) does with his father and even grandfather (or mother in the case of Dis; their grandmother remains unknown to them).

And that’s a problem: if these littler merthings are his children...

Thorin can’t; he just... but he MUST.

And so he does.

He waits for the young ones to finish combing their hair--long and luscious locks of varying colors but mostly dark browns which he figures come from the mother (whom Thorin doesn’t see but can only assume must be unbelievably beautiful; worthy, certainly, of--MONSTER; that thing is a MONSTER; he’s not beautiful)--and (re)placing braids in each other’s before laying down in each other’s arms and tails and hair and fins and seeming to go to sleep like his younger siblings.

Thorin ignores the warm clench in his chest at the thought and sight.

Instead, he silently follows the beautiful monster that came onto him.

The glowing creature leads him to a cavernous room filled with wealth.

Gemstones that glitter under the merthing’s glow. Coins that catch all eyes. Metals that match the gray crust his almost murderer wears upon his long tail. Gold and silver and copper and garnets and sapphires and chrysoprases.

MOUNTAINS of them.

And upon them, in the center of the room, is a throne of giant white diamonds; and, upon it...

The Great King of Greenwater the Great of the Great Green Sea sleeps, seemingly, upon his white diamond throne amongst the well wishes and offerings of his loving people, frightened and sad and desperate to get him back.

But, the gaping hole in his chest, where his heart once lay centuries ago and long before the beginning of his reign, sits black and hollow and DARK.

Oropher the Green Maelstrom sits empty and barren upon his throne, surrounded by love and light but none of it his own.

For his heart, a beautiful giant glowing green pearl which should be buried deep within the living coral stone of his much beloved home above his giant throne, has been taken--MINED--by the very monster creeping into his royal dome.

One important thing to note about merms: their hair isn’t actually hair.

Technically, it is; but only in the sense that these long locks are really hair cells.

They’re receptors, delicate but strengthened by their unusually large size, and pick up everything from sound waves to actual waves that indicate movement.

Such as that of some creepy monster coming up behind one.

Thranduil might have noticed it sooner if he weren’t so tired.

In the wake of his father’s technical absence, he has been forced into his role: Thranduil is now king--however temporarily (and by the currents does he hope this is all going to end shortly with his father up and ruling as he does normally)--and doing his best to juggle both his father’s duties, his own duties as prince and father (and, yes, a part of him wishes he could tack husband back onto that list, if only so he could have back the comfort, aid, and love of his long gone wife), AND the duty of retaking his father’s heart so they can ALL return to normal.

But he does not notice the creeping presence as it enters, so wrapped is he within his woe and weep and want and wish for his father to return to him them.

And even when he did notice, he thought it was simply one of his many children--for why WOULD he assume one of The Hairy Ones from up above would come in the dead of night and follow him into his father’s seemingly empty abode?

What actually tipped him off was the lack of light.

Despite the movement he could feel through both the waves and his long hair, no new light came with it--and that’s strange as all merms glow (but his father... now, at least) with the light of life and love (the reason his father is now so dark: without his heart at least tangentially connected to him through his throne/home, he technically has neither, now... it is why everymerm has tried to fill the room with their love imbued minerals and metals, hoping to substitute their own love for his but it isn’t working and Thranduil’s panicking and that’s why he WENT there, up to The Hairy Ones, in the hopes to END THIS--to get his father BACK).

Confused and realizing it’s not one of his sons or daughters but expecting, really, little more than a random fish he could maybe make them all a little pet out of, the prince-king of the wetland realm turns around and finds himself trapped, staring down the business end of a fully loaded handheld harpoon gun.

And the one holding that gun... the very first Hairy One he’s touched.

Thorin can breathe underwater--this is the one thing he and his people will thank those blasted elves for--BUT--blast those idiots--he isn’t able to TALK.

Of course, he isn’t sure the merthings can--the monster didn’t bother speaking when he came upon him possibly as nude as he had been (which, truly, is just... a WEIRD thought--the thing is nude even NOW and Thorin’s not really sure what, exactly, to DO with that thought)--but he assumes they have a language--of SOME kind--that’s probably as alien to him as the waifish noise elves make.

Thingol actually said (yes, he was listening--only out of necessity, mind: preparedness is important; especially when one is embarking on a task alone) that their language, in the legends, was described like music and song: instruments for vocal chords and an orchestra in the throat.

Regardless of what is true: Thorin lets his gun talk for him.

That and his head.

He nods it in the direction he wants the merthing to go--back towards the tunnel--and keeps the gun trained on his (and Thingol’s) prize.

The monster, not an idiot, clenches its (Thorin isn’t sure what these things are--he passed by many of them but found no real way of telling their age or gender--and this one, especially, is a monster to him anyway) fists (in a move far too... SIMILAR to be comfortable) and, after glancing one last time at the figure shadowed and shattered and slain upon the spectacular diamond throne, obediently swims towards the hidden hole while giving the dwarf a wide berth.

Thorin pointedly ignores the sympathetic clench the monster’s horrified face makes him feel as they swim over the still sleeping bodies of his children.

Thingol praises Thorin upon his return, monstrous merthing in figurative hand.

Thorin’s father and grandfather and other such dwarven family are equally proud and impressed and pester him endlessly for information on the strange things.

Fis, however, is not either of these things.

No: she is furious.

Thorin didn’t think this was much of a problem: his mother usually calms down after enough time is given--although, yes, apologies often help speed up things.

He isn’t a liar, though; and, while a part of him feels bad for the children, yes, he’s not at all sorry to bring his own assailant to justice.

However, his mother does not agree--she does not SEE things this way--and, so, she demands--no: forces!--him to beg for forgiveness.

Fis, somehow knowing exactly where her husband and father-in-law hid it, takes and TURNS IN The Arkenstone.

Thingol is mesmerized by it--more so than he was by even the glowing gold gem that started this all those years ago--just as the dwarrows knew he’d be (because, obviously, they had been).

He’s also angered by their treachery.

They’re punished accordingly: incarceration in cages upon the mountaintop; barred caves otherwise open and vulnerable to the weathering elements; exposed holes in full view of the sun and moon and air and WATER and DORIATH, Thingol’s original/elven/forest kingdom just northwest of Erebor, where they are rendered naked and bared of their mountain’s wonderful and warm weight like worms tugged up by winter-weak, willowy birds.

And if this jarring removal from all that Thorin has known and held dear forever weren’t so horrid and painful and enraging, the young dwarven prince of Erebor would actually be more afraid of his mother’s still very present ire than Thingol’s.

The reason being, of course, that Fis isn’t done.

O, no: the great dwarf dame of Erebor has only just begun!

She may not fully understand what, exactly, it is that her son unearthed that day; but she DOES understand that it is not a toy or a treasure like THEY understand.

No, it is a heart--a PERSON--those same walls her son now misses and craves tell her--whispers into her mind through her dreams in the dead of night--and Oropher’s Heart MUST Be Returned!

And so, as she has always done, Fis obeys her true royal ruler--her mountain--and approaches her non-kin king with determination.

He is almost too distracted to notice her: The Arkenstone--as her son called it--lies like a cold star in his hands, brilliant and bright but also bitter and biting; despite it baring the same blue as a hot and sunny day, there is no warmth in it, no heart: there is no love in the glowing object; just immeasurable sadness.

It wants to go home; it wants to return to Orofer; it wants its FAMILY back.

And Fis aims to grant its wish.

“Such a lovely item, your majesty,” she begins, very carefully, and bows deeply after entering the Elvenking’s [Ereborian] throne room.

King Thingol hardly answers her, seems to not really hear her, and barely hums in acknowledgment of her praise or presence; and, for Fis, that is both good and bad: on one hand, it means he’s too enthralled by the blue gemstone in question to bother with her or what she has to say (which should mean a lot of leeway); but, on the other, it means he’s so enthralled by it... he might not give it up--which he NEEDS to do.

And Fis is determined to make that happen: “About as lovely as the merm, yes?

“I wonder which is lovelier?”

It was a good question; so good, it got Thingol to act.

The Great Elvenking quickly ordered the throne room closed to all visitors and had all of his foreseeable engagements cancelled for the rest of the day. Then, he made his way to his personal rooms--freshly (relatively--it’s been millennia) carved into the highest parts of The Lonely Mountain which he conquered almost effortlessly thousands of years ago (and, coincidently, directly above where Thorin and his accomplices are caged in their little cave-cells)--wherein the merm is collared and chained with dwarven metal and elven lock to his tub (really a grotto the dwarrows working on his chambers connected to a hot spring far below--probably the very one this creature attacked his miner-now-prisoner) (he chose this method of containment not just because it keeps the treasure inside HIS own space but also because it seems to need the heated water).

The creature hisses angrily at him--still, it does not speak.

But it DOES do something ELSE when it sees the gem.

Thingol had expected many things when he entered his rooms with the stone.

He expected the anger, for that is all the undersea being has been since arriving even back when it FIRST came to attack Thorin, and even the silence (again: NOTHING has been spoken or uttered by this thing but for HISSES--sometimes, Thingol actually wonders if it’s truly fish these things are based off of or snakes); he’d expected it to be as enthralled by the blue jewel as they have all been--or even, for perhaps this thing (as unbelievable as this thought might actually be since the merm is COVERED in precious minerals and metals of his own) simply isn’t able to appreciate the beautiful things in life, completely ignore it.

But what he DIDN’T expect...

Were tears.

It’s beautiful, in a way.

Not the tears!

No, not those.

The SONG.

Fis cries as she hears it, too: the long, deep, mournful cries of hopelessness and loss that are so loud, so resonant, so HURT... they can ALL hear it.

Thorin looks up from his cave of a cage and, for a moment, ceases to breathe; he isn’t sure HOW he knows, but he DOES: those painfilled wails are from HIM.; and a part of him thinks he should be happy about this--serves the monster right--but... he can’t.

NONE of them can.

And, this time, he mustn't.

The other thing that happens that Thingol was not expecting is a HOLE.

He’d known, of course, that the cells were virtually right under him/his rooms; what he hadn’t known was just HOW CLOSE that meant they were (and, legitimately, he can appreciate the cleverness behind the dwarrows doing this): Thorin and his company barely had to tunnel their way through the mountain before they are BLASTING through his bedroom floor!

The young dwarven prince, backed by his family and friends, stands dwarf-tall--covered in ash (possibly remains of fires used to attempt to say warm) and debris (from the tunneling) and all manners of filth (more the fault of the dwarrow designers, Thingol thinks, than his own--it really isn’t his fault they all chose, while building the cave-cage-cells, NOT to put certain things as though RUNOFF is good enough for a shower [even IF they have a surprisingly good waterfall here] over his near naked undershirt and thermals)--and admittedly menacing.

Or, at least, as menacing as a five foot dwarf can be to a nine foot tall elf.

The only good thing about this sudden breach is the shocked silence that it brings to the sea creature: even Thranduil had not expected THAT of all things.

Thorin bellows a war cry unheard in almost an age before he’s charging Thingol, bare fists raised in filth from digging through what only a dwarf could toolless; Thrain and Thror and several other dwarrows--friends and family of Thorin--follow after him and, in a blink, Thingol is overwhelmed and taken down.

The young dwarf prince seizes his chance and--as his father and grandfather and cousins and brother all converge upon the Elfking-no-longer-Dwarfking--snatches the glowing blue gemstone from Thingol’s weakened grasp.

His eyes then lock with the starlit silver that is the merthing’s gaze.

The Arkenstone is heavy in his palm--unnaturally so--as he continues to stare.

It alternates between frigid cold and furious heat, almost as though it is thanking him and cursing him all at once AND back and forth--as though it can’t decide which stance to take: hate or love; gratitude or resentment; joy or sadness.

It’s reminiscent of the glow itself: while mostly blue, there’s a fluctuation inside it of yellows, golds, oranges, and even pinks and purples and reds and GREENS that gives it an almost white light--as though one is holding the sun in their hand.

And all that light, that flux, shines brightest in the hope of the merthing’s eyes.

Dwarves make the best hidden doors and the strongest of all the metals abound, of this there is no doubt; but--sadly--even Thorin must admit that the best locks are not actually dwarven ones: no, this make lies in the talents of the gray elves whom somehow make the pieces of the locks, themselves... STICK together: there is no picking to be done when there is no SPACE between or EXPLANATION why the two halves don’t just simply FALL apart!

NOTHING is really keeping the collar together, as far as either Thorin or ... IT can tell; and yet it does not open or even look like it can! To either of them!

Therefore, as his family and friends fight the enraged Thingol behind them, Thorin kneels before the bejeweled creature and takes its chains in his hands.

And then: he PULLS.

Elves may have clever gadgets and powerful creations and straight up magic but nothing they have/make/do can/will ever stand up to a purely pissed off dwarf--especially if all Thorin has to do is yank the connection point from the wall.

As the item in question clatters to the floor, a new silence comes to the room.

Part of it is shock that Thorin just DID that--just RIPPED the entire CHAIN straight out of the WALL--but most of it is actually what ELSE Thorin just did:

The merm is holding The Arkenstone.

“Get ‘im home, son!”

Fis grins proudly at her eldest, eyes bright with unshed tears that are probably more left overs from how the merm’s heart-wrenching song had made her feel than anything else; she had run all the way from the throne room to Thingol’s when she heard the wail, expecting the worst, and couldn’t be happier, now.

She’s still angry, mind, and Thorin knows--now that he’s actually sorry about it--he’ll have to apologize properly to her later; but, for now, he’s making amends.

At least with his mother: “Orofer needs ‘is heart back!”

Thranduil’s in his once-attacker’s arms before he really knows what’s going on.

The short little Hairy One (who’s actually quite tall now that he’s seen so many) is wide enough that the cradle of his hold is surprisingly nice and comfortable--ignoring that he can’t really fit the merm’s impossibly long tail inside of it.

Were they underwater, this would be fine as Thranduil’d be able to swim himself his tail would just trail through the currents; however, above the water... Thranduil winces as his tail starts dragging along the cold and rough stone floor.

He quickly tenses his muscles, coils the offended limb tight about their bodies, and--if he marvels at just how thick and strong and WARM the Hairy One is... well, that’s his business.

Thorin almost immediately drops the merm when he coils around him.

Memories of that night only a short while ago are still vivid in his taxed mind and his breath hitches more than it should while he’s sprinting down the mountain’s insides to get the tailed creature down to the hot springs far below them (since that’s literally the only surefire way he knows to get the starlit one safely home) as the shadow of those long and coiling muscles overlap with the breathless, dizzy, SIGHTLESSNESS of almost being choked to death by his charge.

It is only the knowledge that he struck the other first, almost killed HIM first, and the command of his beloved mother that prevents him from actually dropping him.

And his pride.

And also, if he can be perfectly honest (at least with himself): the warmth of him, the softness of his skin, the smooth texture of his otherwise protected scales and the silkiness of his long and lustrous hair; the scent of the sea and algae and kelp and fruit and starlight and aquatic flowers (like the off-white lotuses that grow along the edges of their springs--where the water is a little cooler but still warm enough to keep them happy--although how they survive such little sun...) that permeates the air around him and wafts off him like light shines off crystals; the way he tucks himself closer and nuzzles his chin and TRUSTS HIM... true: it’s not FULL trust; but it’s there in its infancy and Thorin finds he wants to grow it.

By the time they’re in the hot spring, Thorin is panting and worrying.

For a split second, he fears the one thing he had to thank the elves for before: BREATHING UNDER WATER. Will he still be able to? Now that Thingol’s pissed at him and more than capable of just... (perhaps indirectly) drowning him???

He isn’t sure and he isn’t allowed to think much about it (the merm doesn’t know, after all, and therefore can’t be blamed for so eagerly returning to his element; he CAN, however, be questioned for grabbing Thorin’s hand and pulling on it).

Instead, he finds out through trial and error--the dwarvishest of ways.

Thingol is many things, though, including a monster when it suits/benefits him; but, no, he is not in the habit of murdering others by retracting a gift.

Just subjugating them.

If he had to guess, Thorin would figure Thingol is the reason the merm pulls him down under the surface with him--especially after they hear the distinct PLUNGE sounding from the hot springs telling them he’s coming after them.

For a moment, Thorin’s wounded and worried, freezing and panicking about what this must undoubtedly mean: for all that he loves his friends and family and people, overall, and for all that he is generally confident in how strong and powerful and resilient they all are, he knows Thingol is more so in every way.

There’s a reason, after all, he’s been able to be their forced king for millennia.

The image of his father and grandfather and brother and friends all dead--o, please, no defeated and downed on the floor of the Elvenking’s too-high rooms flashes in his mind before it’s dispelled and drowned by a soft and webbed hand (the one NOT clutching The Arkenstone--Orofer’s heart?) squeezing his rough and filthy one as the merm attached to it drags him deeper into the dark sea.

Everymerm is panicking in the throne room.

Their voices converge like an earsplitting orchestra and their light almost burns.

But, the sudden silence that falls when they all see their mature prince return with their beloved king’s heart and a Hairy One of all things...

Well, it makes the follow-up of an enraged Elvenking that much more deafening.

“Return the Arkenstone!!!”

Thingol’s voice echoes off the cavernous coral walls of the caveish throne room and ricochets off the mineral and metal mountains of riches ladden within it.

It vibrates the hearts of all those present, like a thunder clap shakes teardrops, and, for a moment, in between his near choking upon the very salt of the sea when it hits him that this means Thingol can SPEAK below as he does above, Thorin wonders if Orofer’s heart can feel the elf’s rage, too.

He honestly hopes it can’t.

(Let him be spared this.)

“It--HACKcoughUGHcoughCOUGHcouch--is not yours to begin with!”

Thorin does end up choking on the salty sea water surrounding him, after all, and he wonders how it is that the elf doesn’t have the same problem as him:

Has Thingol been down here before? (He DID say he was interested in them...)

Regardless of the answer, his coughing fit startled everymerm around him--especially the merm he came in with--and, so, they all turn to eye him worriedly--providing Thingol with a great opportunity.

He takes it, of course: both the opportunity and The Arkenstone.

The merm cries out and tries to take it back, tears in his already wet eyes and webbed fingers trying to be claws against the near triumphant elf.

Thorn cries out, too, enraged for the merm’s sake as well as those around them and also for his mother whom gave him this important assignment and, blast it, he will NOT disappoint her--never again.

The two pounce on the Elvenking and wrestle with him, all three trying to obtain the glowing blue gemstone--until it isn’t glowing blue anymore.

It’s green.

The three stop to stare at it, all taken aback.

Thranduil grins and sings with joy--his father recognizes his heart is near!

The merms around them realize what is happening, too, and begin to sing urgently and euphorically for the gem to be returned to its rightful place.

But, this isn’t all that they do: their joy and love is not bound by their voices, alone; no, is also lives in their minerals and metals, in their slates and stones, their coins and crystals, gems and gold: all of which now gleefully glow.

Thorin is mesmerized by it; awed and amazed; and so is King Thingol.

One of the things the elves’ spell doesn’t do is make the barer a better swimmer.

Swimming is something the bespelled must already be able to do--this is, actually, the main reason Thorin was so pissy about having to come down here: he CAN swim, yes, but he’s not very good at it; no dwarf really is; but elves...

Thingol, especially, can swim in ways Thorin and other dwarrows can not: specifically, by magically forcing air to do the swimming for them.

And, so, this is what King Thingol does as he nears Orofer.

“What beauty...” he murmurs, beholding the sight before him.

And while, yes, he IS looking at Orofer, that’s not really what he’s talking about: no, what he’s really referring to is the mountain the Mermking sits upon--and, no, not even the wealth and gold and GIANT DIAMOND: the LOVE.

It is a little known fact that the real reason elves condemn dwarves as greedy cretins is because they can see and FEEL it: dwarven hoards GLOW with greed whereas elven ones glow with PRIDE--even men’s hoards only glow with envy--and while each of these is a sinful glow, it is only the dwarves that attract worms.

This hoard’s glow, however, is something else ENTIRELY...

If Thingol had to say anything sinful about it, he’d probably suggest only one: lust.

Regardless of sin or saint, there is no denying the serenity that awashes him.

Nor is there any denying the siren call that compels him forward, gem in hand, towards the darkened, downed, shattered, shadowed king of the underworld.

The song echoes in his ears like a torrent--a storm--a MAELSTROM.

And it only quiets when Orofer the Great finally opens his green eyes.

The first thing the Mermking of Greenwater does is smile.

Not at Thingol, specifically, no: at the love he feels surging through him--all of it from his people and son and grandchildren and home--that’s been building--coalescing and accreting in his cavernous halls filled almost to point of bursting--for days.

His heart springs green--rich and vibrant and strong and enthralling--from both points--his chest and the coral above his throne from whence it was mined--and bathes the chamber in its emerald foresty magnetism for which is it named.

Greenwater the Great of the Great Green Sea is finally, once again, truly GREEN.

And King Thingol swears he could stare at this beauty for eons.

“Thank you, Graymantle.”

Thingol starts, overwhelmed, as the slowly warming creature beneath him shifts and speaks and suddenly stands to formally greet him--his royal guest.

“You have returned me.”

Webbed fingers, soft and heating and veined in green, caress Thingol’s cheek before the Mermking is swimming passed him and to his tearfully singing son; they embrace in showers of green and gold and gem and gentility and juveniles.

Thorin and Thingol are neigh on forgotten about; but they respectfully wait, realizing, in the ignorance, what their own almost took away.

“I apologize: my son should not have almost killed you.”

Thorin flushes and shifts under aforementioned son’s heated gaze. They’re all back where aforesaid deadly event took place--merms in the hot water while dwarf and elf sit in towels still being used to try and dry off--and trying to mend what almost became damaged beyond repair. King Orofer is extremely kind, understanding that neither of them could really help the way that they reacted and choosing, instead, to focus on the fact that they did, in the end, help his son and return his heart and offer both of their apologies and alliances and amends. “No, good king: it is I that attempted harm first; I am the one whom apologizes.”

Thorin looks up, as ashamed as he is anticipative; the mermprince looks back, starlit silver eyes cautiously curious and carefully contemplative.

Eventually, the whitette nods, “I should have tried talking to you.”

“A token of my gratitude.”

“Gratitude?” Oropher asks, warm lips turning up in a gentle smile as he swims towards the hot spring’s shore. There, kneeling beside his own simplified throne (for, while this is not a throne room, it is easier for them to conduct meetings together here than in either of their real ones; additionally, it rewrites the horrors the hot springs saw betwixt them in the beginning and now comforts them both), is Thingol the Graymantle, Elfking of Doriath and Elven co-king of Erebor, holding in his hands a beautiful necklace of mithril and emeralds and a gold star. “Whatever for?”

“Your kindness, generosity, and forgiveness.”

“My, what a tall order!” Thingol watches Oropher laugh and finds himself smiling despite the fact that he’d normally be annoyed at not being taken seriously. Greenwater’s king just... has that way about him: carefree but not careless, infectious but not irritating, and soft but surprisingly and sweetly strong.

This is why Thingol has decided to do what he never thought he could or would: give up the very thing that truly started all of this: The Gem of True Gold.

It fits snuggly against the length of Oropher’s neck.

The mermking hums as the last clasp clicks into place, relishing in the shine and squeeze and song as the item vibrates in time with his own voice. The gold star rests heavy against the hole in his chest where his heart used to be prekingship.

Deep sea-green stares up at night blue, their gaze creating a beautiful scape.

Oropher thinks he could get lost in that sky forever.

“Thank you.”

Thorin, Dwarf Lord and co-king of Erebor the [no longer] Lonely Mountain, flushes deeply under the heavy swaths of his royal robes as he sits on a rock beside the first merthing he’s ever touched and watches his nephew/sister-son play happily with aforementioned merm’s somewhat older son. Legolas, youngest mermprince of Greenwater, giggles and sings gleefully as Fili rolls around on the hot spring’s shores with him under the amused gazes of all--especially his mother, Dis, and his grandmother, Fis. They both adore the fry and, so, neither mind Thorin and Thranduil sipping mead and wine together.

“He’s always liked you hairy monsters; I appreciate you giving him one as a pet.”

Fis and Dis laugh uproariously as Thorin chokes and spits out his drink; Thranduil only giggles as Fili and Legolas continue playing, oblivious.

Eventually, Thingol lets go of his rule over Erebor, deciding he both misses home and has no need to subjugate Thorin and his people any longer.

There is talk of how this idea is really Oropher’s, who’s been helping the young and budding king grow into a magnificent one (along side his son, Thranduil, who’ll have none of that talk, thank you--he hates the young dwarf lord, understand: HATES), but nobody really minds: the dwarrows are happy regaining the right to rule their own mountain, the elves are happy to go home and see long missed loved ones, and the merms are largely unaffected (Doriath’s actually on the border of Greenwater due to a nice shoreline so...).

Thorin’s meetings with Greenwater, now that he’s The One Dwarfking of Erebor, still happen in the hot spring throne room, of course; but, now, it’s just him.

And Thranduil; whom, while still just a prince, is now an official ambassador--strictly, some say, for the Mountain King...

“Are you going to...”

Thorin trails off as he sits in the hot spring with his mermprince of a guest. Thranduil, calmly combing through his long and luscious and luminous white hair with a strangely unevenly bristled brush, glances at him in silent askance while waiting for him to continue. Neither one of them comment (anymore) on just how close they have become are to the day they violently met: both naked in the bath they were in that day they almost lost both their lives--to each other no less.

They don’t really have to.

They already know.

“King Orofer gave up his heart to be the great king that he is...”

Thorin frowns as he finds himself, yet again, terrible with words.

He struggles to ask what he really wants to but finds he’s too afraid.

Luckily, Thranduil seems to understand him--as he always does--and isn’t: “Indeed, my father has buried his heart in the coral stone above his throne; but, no, this does not necessarily mean I will also do this one day; it is very possible that I will never be king--we merms are an immortal race--and I am glad of that.”

“What about... to a person?”

Here, Thranduil stops his brushing and turns to fully look Thorin in the eyes--or, at least, he would if Thorin would allow it. Instead, the insecure dwarf looks away and at everything BUT the merm beside him. Thranduil rolls his eyes and smiles.

“Why, little dwarf king~ Are you offering yours~?”

The only thing louder than Thorin’s embarrassed stammers is his blush.

At it turns out, Thorin’s heart was not the only thing he gave to Thranduil.

Before he left, the young Dwarfking took the Elvenking aside and asked him: “What do I do? What did YOU do???”

To which Thingol simply said: “I gave him what I thought I could and would not, something I had foolishly thought no one else would ever deserve, and something I created for myself to represent and convey all of my love.

Thorin, ask yourself: what do you have that says and shows what you cannot?”

The answer, it turns out, had really been quite simple.

Long before the overtaking of the mountain by Thingol and back during the days of the original Dwarfking of Erebor, Thorin’s ancestor--Durin the Deathless--mined a stone from the depths of their mountain which seemed to endlessly absorb all light shined upon it. It was seen as an ominous magic stone--in fact, some even say it foretold the coming of the Elvenking and his oppression--and, thus, nothing was ever done with it: instead, it was hidden in Durin’s drawers and only ever spoken of to family; it is, perhaps, one of their darkest secrets.

But, to Thorin, this stone has always looked just a little blue.

The deepest, blackest midnight--or the depths of the sea.

It is with this stone that Thorin makes his courting gift.

A long mithril belt ladden with dark sapphires, black opals, black pearls, and even dark obsidian that wrap will Thranduil’s impossibly long tail--which, once, almost killed him; but, now, softens under his tentative touch and sometimes even holds him gently--with the light swallowing gem attached by a thin chain so that it may rest above the merm’s heart as though it has been given away...

He calls this blue-tinted/glossless gemstone His Blackheart.

And it is the mermprince’s--should he choose to accept it.

He does.

5 notes · View notes

cantstoptheimagines · 2 years

Note

TSB (the sea beast) trio for the character ask hehe

ask game | send me a character and i’ll tell you...

note | this movie has literally no ships (haha, ships, get it?!) in the story, so it took me a while to answer these <3

captain augustus crow

otp for them | this man is married to no one but his ship (sadly)

brotp for them | sarah sharpe

other ships | like i said, this man has literally no one but the inevitable and his crew <3

what kind of fic i’d write about them | he’s a dilf, so maybe a fic that features an age gap between him and the reader? now i’m getting ideas >:3

a favorite canon moment | literally every father-son moment between him and jacob

color that reminds me of them | scarlet red

song that reminds me of them | so raise a glass to the sky (high!) to crow and his missing eye! (aye, aye!)

a headcanon about them | he’s much softer at heart than he’s lets people believe

a random au i think up on the spot for them | idk, he just suits the pirate theme so well? i mean, the eyepatch?! hElLo?!

anything else | again, he’s a total dilf, despite being a little bit of jerk sometimes <3

jacob holland

otp for them

brotp for them | sarah sharpe (maybe i just adore her too much.....? nah)

other ships

what kind of fic i’d write about them | maybe a friends to lovers fic since i’ve already done enemies to lovers with him

a favorite canon moment | omg that moment when jacob pleads, “she’s just a child”, to crow, who is demanding that maisie be brought to him after freeing the red bluster

color that reminds me of them | blue

song that reminds me of them | my mother told me (various artists)

a headcanon about them | he will literally never admit it, but this man is totally a lovesick idiot whenever he has a significant other

a random au i think up on the spot for them | not really an au but this man suits the enemies to lovers trope so well :3

anything else | every time he made a wrong prediction, turned into a clumsy oaf, etc. had me cracking up

sarah sharpe

otp for them | i imagine her being with someone who is the complete opposite of her personality wise. i’m talking about, like, a flowery fairy princess type of woman lmao

brotp for them | i think she pairs well with both jacob and crow, although for different reasons

other ships

what kind of fic i’d write about them | maybe like a grumpy x sunshine pairing fic (or serious x silly, whatever you wanna call it). since sharpe seems to be a rather serious person most of the time, i feel like she’d fit that type of pairing incredibly well

a favorite canon moment | that moment towards the end where she decides to help jacob and maisie free red

color that reminds me of them | deep sea green

song that reminds me of them | loreley by blackmore’s night

a headcanon about them | this woman is gaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy, like i saw her and immediately knew she was also a fellow member of the alphabet mafia lmao

a random au i think up on the spot for them | she’d be a really good character for a soulmate au <3

anything else | i wish we had gotten more interactions between her and maisie, especially since maisie seems to literally adore her. those two could have had some really cool moments together

#2022 #answered #the sea beast

12 notes · View notes

typingtess · 2 years

Video

youtube

NCIS: Los Angeles Season 13 Rewatch: “Murmuration”

The basics: After an F-35 goes into the Pacific after colliding with an unknown aircraft, the team investigates what happened.

Written by: Samantha Chasse co-wrote "Kill Beale Vol. 1" and wrote "Impostor Syndrome".

Directed by: James Hanlon who directed "War Cries", "The Grey Man", "Kolcheck, A", "Driving Miss Diaz", "Command and Control" (number 150), "Angels and Daemons", "Where There’s Smoke", "Black Market", "Tidings We Bring", "Can I Get a Witness?", "Cac Tu Nhan", "A Diamond in the Rough", "Into the Breach", "Human Resources”, “Commitment Issues” and "The Nobel Maidens".

Guest stars of note: Duncan Campbell returns as NCIS Special Agent Castor from “All the Little Things”, Benjamin Papac as Gabe Dawson, William deVry as Navy Captain Lombardo/XO, Graham Patrick Martin as Navy Lt. Joseph Landry, Danny Brown as Navy Air Intercept Controller Heather Greene, Rahnuma Panthaky as Taylor Dubrons, Ashley Zipperman as Navy Petty Officer Demi Walker and J.B. Bauersfeld as NRO Agent Mark Rexingham

Our heroes: Are on the sea and on the land for this hour.

What important things did we learn about:

Callen: Worried about Lt. Landry. Sam: Thinks the Allegiance has a leadership void. Kensi: On board with the stars on the ceiling after all. Deeks: Was himself and that’s what made Kensi love him. Fatima: Planned to take down the drone swarm. Rountree: Delivering a motorbike to Kensi and Deeks. Kilbride: Asking a lot of Fatima.

What not so important things did we learn about:

Callen: Not running a triathlon. Sam: Running a triathlon Kensi: Suddenly worried about clutter. Deeks: Fan of the classic toys. Fatima: Fan of the Oregon Trail video game. Rountree: Fan of the Turbo Shot 300. Kilbride: Not interested in anything UFO related.

Where in the world is Henrietta Lange? Unknown.

Who's down with OTP: Deeks is freaking out about being a good father, Kensi is there to keep him calm. The episode ends with the two of them snuggled up under the possible foster child’s ceiling of stars.

Who's down with BrOTP: Callen and Sam were in good form on the Allegiance. Fatima might keep Rountree around considering how helpful he was in this episode.

Fashion review: Callen is in a green and white plaid button-down shirt. Black long-sleeve tee for Sam. Dark red sweater for Kensi today while Deeks is in a white henley. Fatima is wearing a white turtleneck with four colored glass buttons on the cuffs of the sleeves. A pale blue tree-shirt for Rountree under a blue plaid jacket with a thin shearling lining. As always, a blue three-piece suit for the Admiral, this one with a white shirt and red and white pattern tie.

Music: Not today.

Any notable cut scene: Not today.

Quote: Sam: “I'm starting to think the USS Allegiance has a leadership problem.” Callen: “Ah, what tipped you off? The abandoned infant or the jilted pilot?”

Anything else: Back on the Allegiance, an alarm is going off. A sailor at a radar station, Intercept Controller Greene, is warning an aircraft is about to enter their restricted airspace. She asks if they can hear her. She gets no response. As she starts to repeat her warning, the XO is on deck. All the sailors stand but the XO tells them “as you were.” He approaches Greene and asks for a sitrep. The aircraft is quickly approaching the ship. She’s tried to contact them without any success. The aircraft is 15-miles out. The XO wants the Allegiance pilots flying near the ship to check out the aircraft.

When one pilot is given his orders, he asks if this is a test during his training assignment. It is not.

The XO wonders why the aircraft was picked up sooner. He’s told the radar systems only just found it. “It’s as if it came out of nowhere, sir.”

The pilot radios the other aircraft, explaining they are entering restricted airspace and must change course immediately. If they do not comply, they will be fired on.

Greene reports that the unknown aircraft just stopped. The XO thinks it fell into the ocean but Greene explains it just stopped – it is hovering. They hear the pilot say he’s going to fly by the aircraft but when he tries, alarms in his plane start going off. He tells the Allegiance that he’s been hit by projectiles. “Contact lost” shows up on the radar operator’s screen.

In the office, Deeks is opening a number of delivery boxes. Kensi walks in and jokes that the two of them are paying for Jeff Bezos’s next space trip. Deeks bought a number of toys that Kensi notes were popular in the early 1990’s. Deeks considers them classics. Rountree is impressed. He even grabs for one of the toys – a Turbo Shot 300. Kensi explains that the foster inspection is coming and they aren’t looking for toys, they are looking for a good home – one free of clutter. Deeks wants to create a welcoming environment, which Kensi thinks is sweet but it is just a small part of the inspection. Besides, modern kids don’t want 30-year old toys.

In the boatshed, Callen arrives as Sam is walking down from the upstairs area. Sam is running a triathlon. Callen tells Sam he was with Anna. That pleases Sam – Napa did them some good. Asking about Sam’s dad, Sam tells Callen his father is getting better but isn’t listening to anyone’s advice. When Sam tells Callen it looks like he hasn’t slept, Callen brings up the deep fakes and how DARPA’s media forensics team can’t trace them. The better DARPA gets at finding the deep fake program’s flaws, the better the program gets at fixing its mistakes. Katya keeps updating the program. Looking out the back deck, Callen sees a flock of birds flying over the water. “She is never going to stop.” Agent Castor walks in with a man in a Navy sweatshirt saying the man insisted on coming to see them.

In Ops, Fatima asks if Kensi, Deeks and Rountree saw the video of the UPA siting. Since it was on the news, they all did. Fatima plays the video with the cameraman’s description of what is happening. These bright lights in the sky are hovering over a canyon between Santa Monica and Malibu. They were hovering for at least five minutes. Dozens of videos are showing up on social media. Deeks brings up UFOs just when the Admiral arrives, He corrects Deeks – they are UAPs, Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon. “I know three-letter words are hard, let’s try to keep up.” Kensi is silently laughing.

The Admiral explains the unidentified aircraft that entered US airspace until it was picked up by the Allegiance. During pursuit of the aircraft, there was a mid-air collision, causing the pilot to eject. Kensi asks about the pilot, who was recovered but ejecting while flying at Mack 1 was probably not great for his nerves. The Navy plane was lost, causing some speculation in the media, according to Fatima, that it wasn’t an unidentified aircraft, it was a Russian, Chinese of North Korean aircraft. “It’s a damn circus out there” according to the Admiral. All of this is worrisome since they don’t know what the aircraft was and it was able to slip into US airspace with ease.

The Admiral makes it “abundantly clear” this is not about “little green men in flying sauces.” Something ordered by someone violated US airspace and international law as it threatened a US Navy vessel. “This is a matter of national security.” Fatima’s tablet beeps with a text from Sam. Castor’s visitor was the pilot who ejected, Lt. Joseph Landry. He was supposed to be in the hospital until later that day.

In Interrogation, Callen comes in with a glass of water for Landry. Landry tries to pick it up but is shaking so violently, he nearly spills it all. Callen is going for a towel but Landry wants to clean it up himself. Using the sleeve of his sweatshirt, he cleans up a little of the spill. Pulling the wet sleeves, Callen sees there is still an IV port in Landry’s right arm. Callen tells Landry he doesn’t have to talk to them right now. “I need to do this.”

Sitting down, Callen asks what happened. Landry explains that he was diverted from his training mission since he was the closest plane to the aircraft – “if you can call it that.” Landry said the plane had no anti-collision lights. He could barely see the heat signature on his dashboard before the aircraft broke apart. Callen wants more information. Landry explains that he thought the aircraft was deploying countermeasures but they all moved toward him. Landry tried to fly away but they followed him. He deployed his own countermeasures as he tried to fly above what was following him. As he started to climb, whatever was out there hit his wing. With his plane going into a spin, he punched out.

Callen recaps, says whatever it was fired on Landry’s plane and damaged the wing. Landry gives a hurried “no” before taking a deep breath and trying again. As he told the people in the hospital, there was no radar lock or missile threat. One of the countermeasures hit him mid-flight. The Navy is now classifying his encounter as a bird strike. Landry can’t believe it. A flock of birds can’t take down an F-35. Callen asks why is Landry talking to NCIS. And why did he leave the hospital before they were supposed to release him. Landry is frustrated. He ejected at 7,000 feet and now is being told what happened to him didn’t happen. A bird did not take down his jet.

Rountree heard from the Coast Guard, he’s getting a list of all the ships in the area. Fatima is having a hard time tracing what happened to the F-35. Its infrared camera didn’t record any useful data. None of this makes any sense. The aircraft got close to the Allegiance and nobody knows how. It is fortunate that nobody got hurt. Rountree has an idea. They don’t know what the odd lights are but there are so many videos of them, Fatima could track their locations with the video and find where they are coming from. Smiling, Fatima may keep Rountree around.

Landing on the Allegiance, Callen and Sam introduce themselves to the XO. The XO is sorry Callen and Sam are there because they’re likely wasting their time but he understands with the media scrutiny, NCIS had no other options. Going to the ship’s version of the Ops big screen, the XO shows Callen and Sam the flight map from the prior evening. The XO points out when the aircraft shows up and blames it not being picked up earlier on a mechanical failure. That catches the attention of the radar operator who is nearby.

The XO continues, saying that Landry was assigned to take a look. Callen tells the XO that Landry said the incident was going to be classified as a bird strike – does the XO agree with that assessment? He doesn’t agree with the bird strike classification but he doesn’t agree with what Landry did either. The prior night’s incident was a “combination of technical failure and inexperience.” Landry graduated at the top of his F-35 class, according to Sam. Callen wonders why the XO sent Landry in if he was so inexperienced.

Walking out of earshot of his sailors, the XO says the aircraft was a glitch in their radar system. Landry was never in any danger. Callen says that the pilots story is different but the XO thinks the pilot’s fear is speaking. Sam asks if Landry is giving them a false story. “To him, no.” But the XO is sure a more experience pilot could have saved the crippled plane and understood what was on his radar. “Calling this an accident is a favor to him.”

The XO says in his time, statements about UAPs were career-enders. Now the Navy has a task force looking into them. Two members of the Army in camo gear walk into the deck, the XO excuses himself to deal with them.

In a hallway, Sam tells Callen he thinks the Allegiance has a leadership problem. “What tipped you off?” Callen jokes. Sam recognized the patches on the Army personnel as being Army Future Command. He’s not sure why they would be on the Allegiance even after Landry trashed his F-35. Callen tells Sam that Landry was questioned in the hospital. He thought it was the Agent Afloat asking the questions but maybe it wasn’t. Callen contacts Fatima, asking if any other agencies of departments are working on the case. Fatima says NCIS is leading the case with the Coast Guard and UAP Task Force following. She asks why but Callen and Sam are not comfortable doing this on comms.

Offering some good news, Fatima found what may have hit the plane. While most of it likely in the Pacific, something made it way aback to the coast, damaged. Using location data and a map, she found a quarter mile radius where it likely landed in the Santa Monica Mountains. Kensi and Deeks are on their way now to check things out. Callen and Sam are impressed.

Driving the Audi in the mountains, Kensi and Deeks are listening to news reports about the UAP. A driving Deeks find nothing promising as they climb a hill. Pulling over, Deeks notices that Kensi is looking through his shopping cart on his phone and not for a podcast. Deeks is offended – his shopping cart is private, even if he only has the essentials in it. Kensi wonders what is essential about glow in the dark ceiling stars. Deeks tells her all the cool kids had it – it is the world’s best nightlight. For Kensi, It is also a choking hazard.

Deeks asks what Kensi had on her ceiling to invoke childhood wonder and imagination. She had stucco and darkness. This explains so much to Deeks. Kensi explains so much to Deeks. She thinks he’s overdoing it because he’s afraid the kid may not like him. Deeks says no but that becomes a maybe. Pointing out that Kensi is so good with kids (have they watched the first few seasons of the show?), Deeks wants to stack the deck. Kensi assures him being himself will get the kid to like them – it worked on her. He buys the stars anyway. Kensi and Deeks can’t go any farther in the car so they start climbing the mountain on foot.

In Ops, Rountree tells Fatima that the Coast Guard had no unusual events the prior night and San Clemente Island (where SEAL training happens) had no training events. Fatima was thinking – the UAP retreated after the altercation with the jet, not attack. Maybe it was there to gain intel. Fatima thinks it was an UAV/drone swarm. Rountree is going to update Callen and Sam as the Admiral arrives. He has the SECNAV waiting for him – he needs a sit-rep. Fatima advances her UAV swarm idea. The Admiral wonders if they were armed. Probably not, Fatima says but if they wanted to, the UAV swarm could have used lethal force. They weren’t there to attack, they were there to see what would happen.

With the UAV swarm over the ship, they could be pulling data from the Allegiance that would provide a picture to its controller about all the intel, technology and weapons on the boat. This is how someone could invade a world power.

Deeks is unhappy they are walking on the real Oregon trail. Kensi comes across a decent sized hole in the ground, scorched earth and broken tree branches around them. There is noise nearby so Kensi and Deeks pull their weapons. A young man comes out of the woods with his hands up.

After being patted down by Kensi, the young man, Gabe Dawson, says he is a college student, so Deeks wants to know why he is hiding in the forest from some federal agent. Dawson isn’t sure Kensi and Deeks are federal agents – they’re not wearing uniforms. He asks Deeks to return his messenger bag. Deeks tosses it to Dawson. He has his podcasting equipment in the bag as the host of the “I Know You Know I Know” podcast. Kensi is stunned. Dawson has been tracking the UAV swarm for a while. He thought he’d get to the UAV first but someone beat him to it – and he didn’t see who.

Deeks asks how long is “a while” for tracking the swarm. Dawson says at least a couple of weeks. Kensi asks for proof but that inly only available as premium content for paid subscribers. Seeing Kensi call into Ops with her earwig, Dawson want to know about all about them. With his microphone running.

Kensi calls into Fatima about the not having the UAV and meeting Dawson. The plan is forward Dawson’s photos and have the UAP task force cross-reference them with the prior swarm incidents. None of this is good news.

A disappointed Callen and Sam have heard the same story as the XO’s from all the staff on the deck until Greene approaches them. She explains she was the one who saw the aircraft on the radar. She thought she missed something, allowing the aircraft to the near the ship. Reviewing it, it wasn’t a mistake. Whatever it was it could have flown at an altitude where it wasn’t picked up by radar until it got near the ship. Knowing it would get caught, whatever was out there set itself up as an aircraft to see what their reaction would be. “Does that sound like a malfunction to you?” This all confirms Fatima’s theory.

Outside of interrogation, Callen and Sam realize the only country that has UAVs that could fly the way the UAV swarm did is the US. So is this some rogue US company doing this or was the technology stolen and sold abroad. Callen calls Rountree to ask for any company with DoD ties that has drone programs at this level of sophistication. There is only one company, Panlark and they are based in LA. Fatima returns to Ops with a file from the UAP task force. It is huge. Rountree is off to find the Admiral and they’ll all go through it together.

While looking around for the drone, Dawson is asking Kensi and Deeks a lot of questions for his podcast – do they have microchips in the brain – and pushing his podcast merch. Mercifully, Fatima contacts them. The UAP Task Force has at least seven other similar sightings in the last two months. Dawson thinks that’s ridiculous. There were seven sightings in the last week. He tells them the drone swarm takes off every night after some solar recharging. With a 5:30PM sunset, they have to warn the Allegiance.

Opening the files, Fatima is stunned by what’s available. There are radio transmissions, flight paths, scans of the terrain. Rountree walks in, equally stunned. “This is so much bigger than we thought,” Fatima says.

The drones have flown around the Navy testing site at San Clemente Island. The Allegiance is obviously the target but San Clemente Island should be put on alert. The Admiral hopes Fatima has a plan to stop tonight’s flight – he has calls to make. Bringing them down before they hit the Pacific is a problem because they would land in residential areas. The same with the civilian boats in the sea. Fatima is going to try to hijack the drone swarm’s signals. It was done in Afghanistan. Taking over their signal, she hopes to land the swarm.

An engineer from Panlark is in the boatshed explaining that the drone swarm is learning from each time they fly. As a swarm, they learn together but having each drone learn something new and share it with the others. This is the same intelligence that is used to make deepfakes. Callen asks how do they stop the swarm. The engineer tells him there is no way to stop this. They learn together – take one down and the others all know what not to do. The only way to stop the drone swarm is to take them down simultaneously.

Callen joins Sam in the main part of the boatshed. The swarm over the Allegiance learned what happened if they got too close to the ship. “Testing the fences.” Sam calls Fatima and updates her on what the engineer told them. Sam is sure there will be another attack that night. Fatima send Rountree to Kensi and Deeks. She is going to try to control the drones but is really worried that if she fails, possibly armed drones will be crashing into the streets in LA. He tells her to make sure he gets it right.

Rountree arrives at the drone site but the equipment is too big to bring up the hill. Rountree has plan – a motorcycle.

The Admiral gets off the phone with SECNAV. He is not happy.

Fatima sits at her workstation and starts taking over the drones. Kensi and Deeks get close to the launch site but are a bit off. They need to get closer to the setting sun.

Interviewing the engineer, Callen needs to know who sold these drones. She makes it clear, the drones belong to the US. Lanark made them for the DoD.

Fatima realizes that nobody is controlling the drones – they are controlling themselves. “This is rouge AI.” The Admiral arrive sand tells Fatima to stand down.

At the base of the mountain, Rountree and Dawson have company. A rather generic sedan pulls up.

On the ship, Greene walks away from her station to use the restroom. Walking down the hall, she sees the drone swarming coming toward the ship.

Dawson is sure he and Rountree are going to be killed by the Men in Black but the two gentlemen getting out of the sedan are with the National Reconnaissance Office. The men want NCIS and Dawson off the mountain now.

Sam gets a call. The case is over. This isn’t a treat to Naval operations. Callen disagrees. Someone has to pay for what happened. Callen confronts the engineer about the drones becoming autonomous. “What the US government does with it is not our concern.” She knows the feds wouldn’t tell her anyway. Callen asks how she could take zero responsibility for this. The AI going rouge isn’t a problem, the people running the AI going rouge is.

In his office, the Admiral wants to talk to Fatima. He wants to explain what happened. The best of intentions can have dire consequences. The Army allowed the UAV swarm to run autonomously. It worked, too well. The Army Futures Command lost control. Why train on other country’s ships when it could learn from the finest Navy in the world. Fatima is grateful for the update.

She asks what will happen to the drones. Explaining that this is the same as the US/Russian race to the moon, the US has to win this one as well. The TV news calls the drone swarms a Navy training mission with weather balloons.

Returning to the office with the radar equipment, Rountree and Fatima talk about all that’s gone wrong with the team using AI. Rountree wants to play Oregon Trail in Ops.

In the second bedroom, Kensi is lying on the floor with her eyes closed. Deeks turns off the lights and shows her the stars he put on the ceiling. She thinks it is really cool. He agrees.

What head canon can be formed from here: Again, the Kensi and Deeks switch around. Kensi is worried about getting rid of clutter in the house after 12-seasons of her being called a hoarder by the people who care about her. Deeks is suddenly terrible with kids and frightened by that but Kensi is fantastic with kids. Because Emma Mastin’s son and Commander Chambers daughter were terrible with Deeks and Kensi was delighted to be asked to babysit Kam.

In “All the Little Things”, the sailors on the Allegiance were all good people. The sailor who found the baby, the sailor who was happy the baby was kept warm with his shirt, the sailor who was friends with the baby’s mother – all solid people. Here, the fish is rotting from the head down with an XO seemingly to dislike his crew, especially Lt. Landry. Didn’t ask about Landry, just sneered at his accusations and the fact that the Navy was going to save his career.

Fatima and Rountree did a lot of heavy lifting explaining all the tech to the viewer at home. Sorry Fatima didn’t get an opportunity to save the day – it would have been nice. Thought Sam telling Fatima “no pressure” in a jokey way as she was about to override the drone swarm seemed out of character. Sam boosts up people difficult situations. He doesn’t tell them the obvious.

Episode number: Episode 12 of season 13, episode 292 overall.

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